1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electrical devices and, more particularly, to the testing of integrated circuit devices.
2. Related Art
Semiconductor or integrated circuit devices have continually evolved to provide improvements such as miniaturization, reduced power consumption, reduced cost, and increased speed. One consequence of the rapidly increasing speed (e.g., increasing data rate) of semiconductor devices is that adequate testing of the semiconductor devices becomes difficult and expensive. For example, integrated circuits now routinely operate at data rates above 100 MHz. For testing purposes, such data rates may require expensive, specialized automated test equipment.
When data rates reach or exceed 400 MHz, current commercially available automated test equipment may fail to detect the data with sufficient accuracy in order to perform the desired testing. In particular, during testing, signal parameters such as voltage, current, and timing or skew must be precisely controlled and monitored, for example, using currently employed techniques and systems, such as special load boards and handler designs. As data rates continue to increase, these currently employed techniques and systems, taken alone, will not be adequate to perform high-speed testing. As a result, there is a need for improved methods and techniques for testing integrated circuit devices.